It's so long that the turtle can "snorkel," stretching its neck so its pointy proboscis can come up for air while it stays on the bottom of a stream. Mata matas are part of the suborder Pleurodira .

If convicted, Mata could face up to 30 years in prison. Should he be convicted of a lesser included misdemeanor charge, culpable negligence, he could face up to a year in jail.

The mata mata turtles in the Amazon Basin showed some color variations on the skin and shell. "Based on this observation, we decided to take a closer look at these animals' genetic makeup," he said.